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The Great Lent is the best time to get down
to the battle against passions. Sin, passion, vice, and addiction are related
concepts. Alcohol, drug, and gambling addictions are arguably the most
antisocial passions that change a person’s lifestyle rapidly and radically.

It has long been evident that dependency is
not just a healthcare problem. It is a spiritual problem, too. Luckily, the
Church has an effective treatment method grounded in the teachings of the Holy
Fathers. Thus, St Elisabeth Convent has organised the Orthodox Temperance
Society. Archpriest Eugene Pavelchuk supervised a similar organisation in
Hrodna for six years. Today, he puts his experience to use in our Convent, too.

– Father Eugene, could you please tell us what
the main idea behind the Orthodox Temperance Society is?

– The Orthodox Temperance Society in Hrodna was
established six years ago when I served in the Holy Protection Cathedral of
that city. Those who suffer from alcohol, drug, gambling, and other
dependencies, receive therapy based on the prescriptions of the Holy Fathers.
With the blessing of Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok, the spiritual father of St
Elisabeth Convent, an Orthodox Temperance Society has been established in our
Convent, too.

Any
passion is first and foremost an illness of the soul, even if it is linked to
certain chemical substances. Alcohol and drugs are merely means of the
subjugation of one’s soul. An individual drinks alcohol not because he likes
its taste but because he likes the altered state of mind, the fake happiness
and imaginary joy that ensues. This is what passion means: it’s a spoof, a
devil’s trap.

You can
get rid of dependency only by changing your heart. You can break free only if
you stop loving vice and direct your steps to God. This road is incredibly
thorny and cumbersome. However, we have patristic instructions how to fight
passions; hence, we possess all the necessary tools and resources at hand. Of
course, it is achievable only with that person’s active engagement and with
God’s help. You cannot defeat sin without God and his grace.

The first
step towards recovery is to admit that you are ill and to recognise that you
cannot crush the dependency on your own. When you are humbled by your
powerlessness, you become humble before God. Let’s recall the parable of the
prodigal son. He enjoyed his life drinking wine and partying with harlots. As
long as he had the fake sensation of happiness, he was okay and did not want to
change anything. Only when, a son of a king that he was, he started herding
pigs in exchange for eating their food with them — it should be noted that even
this promise was broken: And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks
that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him (Luke 15:16) — did he finally
acknowledge his desperate situation. Only after hitting rock bottom the
prodigal son finally came to his senses and repented.

The devil
is a liar. He never gives anything for free to a human being. He just promises:
“You’ll have fun! Your life will be flashy!” In reality, the person’s life
turns grey, hollow, and disappointing.

The
purpose of the Temperance Society is to open up the way for a person to start
healing his soul. Our Society is the starting point which can spur one’s
improvement, provided that he is willing to participate in it. Being healed
does not mean “being able to drink like everyone else.” No! Being healed means
living a sober life with God, which is completely on a different level. As soon
as a person tastes a God-filled life, the direction of his life changes.

It’s a
long and challenging road but there’s no way around. The quick and dirty ways
that various organisations offer, are bogus. The devil also suggested a quick
and dirty way, didn’t he? As soon as you eat that fruit, you’ll become like God
(…in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as
gods, knowing good and evil. Cf. Genesis 3:5). God had prepared a long and
rugged but the only possible path to becoming like God — the path of
self-discipline, humility, and submission. The Lord Jesus Christ did not assure
us that this road would be easy. He showed the way of carrying one’s own cross:
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and
follow me. (Matthew 16: 24). If someone promises to make a person free from
alcohol or drug abuse, he is a liar who leads that person astray…

– You say that the starting point for a person
to be healed is when he realises his dependency and his illness. What if
someone refuses to accept the fact of dependency? What can his relatives do?
What should they do to motivate their ill family member to start fighting his
addiction?

– One will admit that he is ill and make proper
conclusions only when he is completely disappointed in his passion. The disappointment
comes only when one feels the consequences of his sin. Passions attract people.
People like their passions because they have turned into habits. If one doesn’t
get hurt after falling, will he come to the right conclusions? No, he won’t.
God loves us much stronger than we love our own children. Nevertheless, he lets
us fall down, although he supports us invisibly to prevent us from being hurt
too badly. The Lord allows an individual to suffer precisely as much as he can
handle: If the suffering is too mild, the person won’t learn, but if it’s too
harsh, the person can become angry or restless. This is how the great God’s
love is made manifest.

As far as
the immediate family of the addicts are concerned, they face the tricky
challenge. They have to love the unfortunate person but do it the right way,
i.e., with a clear view of the situation. The most vital part of our work with
the addicts’ relatives is to help them to allow the sharp God’s love into their
hearts by knowing God and to extend this love to their relatives. The love that
they should learn to communicate is not the excessive love but the right kind
of love when you feel where you should let that person fall and not to
safeguard him, not to live his life for him. The point is not to help the
addict to get rid of his passion temporarily. The point is to help him to
change his soul, to help his heart to feel God, accept God’s love, which will
then set everything straight. It’s hardly possible for our human reasoning to
find the precise level of affection and engagement. It’s possible with God,
though.

Relatives
and friends of the addicts find the new reality of addiction hard to put up
with. They become infuriated with the sick family member. There are cases when
a woman goes to a mutual-aid group and then suddenly makes a disastrous
decision, “Why do I stand that husband for so long? I want a divorce!” And she
gets a divorce. Sure, if a man wastes a long time drinking heavily and clearly
does not want to change anything, his wife is entitled to a church divorce.
However, I am afraid of extreme actions like these… How much time should a
woman spend waiting patiently? Six months, a year, three, five years, a decade
— how do we find out? Right now, her husband doesn’t want to admit that he is
ill. Half a year later, God will open his heart. Then what? Sometimes the man
abandons his sin but his wife has been so frustrated and embittered that she
doesn’t want and cannot stay with him any longer. “I loathe you,” she says. Is
it a Christian approach? How do you explain the unbelieving husband is
sanctified by the wife (1 Cor. 7:14) then? It’s genuinely elusive. That’s why
dealing with the co-dependent is much harder than dealing with the dependent.

– Where can one go and who can one ask if one
wants to participate in the Temperance Society and start his way out of
addiction? Where and when do you meet?

– Our Temperance Society works with the addicts
systematically in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Fathers. We meet
twice a week. We read an Akathist to the Inexhaustible Chalice icon of the
Mother of God on Sundays at 6 PM in St John of Shanghai Church followed by a
meeting. Additionally, we meet for a friendly discussion in that church every
Thursday at 6.30 PM.

Of
course, we are in the very beginning of our journey. We have a lot to do
together. When the participants of our Society gain enough love to be able to
empathise with one another openly, the Society will transform into a real
community. Little by little we are getting closer to it. Recently, one of our
brothers had a breakdown. I said, “Dear brothers, let’s pray because one of our
brothers feels bad and it can be devastating.” All the brothers prayed
together, and the brother could feel it. He returned to our group saying,
“Forgive me brothers.” He was sincere. Gradually, God willing, we plan to reach
a new level where we will have the genuine Divine love among us.

“One can climb – at
once – to the 30th step by practicing humility and love. Because, love and
humility surpass any virtue”.

(Metropolitan
Anthonie Plamadeala)

Found
mostly in older churches and monasteries, “The Ladder to Heaven” is the
iconographic image of St. John Climacus book called “The Ladder of Divine
Ascent”. The book and the icon are also known as “Leastvita,” in Slavonic “the
ladder”.

St.
John Climacus lived between 579-649 in the monastic community of St. Catherine
of Mount Sinai; for many struggles he took on in this monastery, he is also
called “St. John of Sinai”.

St.
John entered the Sinai community at the age of 16, after having been instructed
in many sciences of the time. For about nineteen years, the saint had as holy
confessor, the Blessed Martyrios of Sinai. After the passing away of his elder,
St. John withdraws into the desert, in the cell called Thola(s), few kilometers
from the monastery of Sinai. In this solitary place, Saint John will continue
his ascetic struggle for forty years.

At the request
of the monastic community of Mt. Sinai, St. John became the abbot and spiritual
instructor of the convent. Later, at the request of Blessed John form Raitt,
saint John will write “The Latter of Divine Ascent”, a book divided into thirty
chapters or steps necessary for salvation. This work was translated into many
languages and became an important part of the Philokalia.

The Ladder of Divine Ascent in iconography

According
to the writings of Dionysius of Furnas, recorded in his book “The Erminia of
Byzantine painting”, the icon often called “The ladder of/to Heaven” is closely
related to the work of St. John of the Ladder. It should be noted that the
ladder of salvation does not pertain only to the monastics, but also to the
Christians in the world, whether married or not (see commentaries of St.
Theophan the Recluse on The Ladder, Instructions for the layman).

A monastic
community is depicted at the bottom of the icon, on both the right and the left
sides. Monks of different ages are represented standing at the gate of the
monastery and looking towards the ladder. The Ladder of Divine Ascent, shows
thirty steps by the number of chapters (stages) written in St. John Climacus’
book. In some iconographic representations, the Ladder has 33 steps according
to the number of years Christ lived on earth.

The
Ladder is placed in an inclined position with its lower-end supported on the
ground and its upper-end touching the Heaven. Monks are represented on the
entire length of the ladder, climbing towards Heaven. These monks are an
imagine of the spiritual life: some are just reflecting, others set foot on the
first step, some are climbing slowly, others rise more quickly, some other fall
off the ladder (from all levels), while others reach its end where Christ
awaits them.

The top of the
ladder depicts many angelic figures, each helping one monk on his way to
salvation; while some monks are just guided by the angels, others are taken by
the hands. At the bottom of the ladder, we can see more or less creepy figures,
which represent the devils, each striving to pull down a soul. Some monks look
unhindered towards Christ, while others barely keep one foot on every single
step. Few angels are working to remove the demons with long spears.

At
the last portion of the ladder, our Savior is portrayed in a bright medallion/
light. The monk on the last rung of the ladder is depicted as being old and
wise, clothed in humility and looking towards Christ. In return, our Savior
catches him by the hand, while crowing his head with the crown of victory.

At
the bottom of the icon, a terrifying dragon with its mouth wide open imagines
hell. Between the sharp teeth of the dragon is a fallen monk, while others are
about to fall.

In
some iconographic representations, St. John Climacus himself is painted
directing the monks towards salvation, while holding a paper roll in his hands
that reads: “My brother struggle with all thy power so you may be pardoned from
your many wretched sins. With many hard labors and good deeds on those steps
rise up, awaking your mind with exhausting vigils.”

If we understand Great Lent as the abstinence from
lack of love, and not just from butter, then it will be a bright fast and its period
will be the “joyful time of Lent”.

“O Lord, plant in me the root of all goodness, the
fear of Thee in my heart”.

Lack of love is the most terrible inabstinence for it is
the first and original abuse of the Holy Spirit. Apostle Paul wrote: “I beg you
through the love of the Spirit” (Romans 15:30).

Love is contrasted with pride and rage. According to
St Irenaeus of Lyons, in the evening prayer we ask the Holy Spirit, the Creator
of the World, to forgive us first of all those sins that were committed against
love: “or grieved anyone, or have become
angry about anything; or have lied, or slept needlessly, or if a beggar hath
come to me and I disdained him; or if I have grieved my brother, or have
quarreled, or have condemned anyone; or if I have been boastful, or prideful,
or angry; if I have thought evil, seen the beauty of an! other and been wounded
thereby in my heart; if I have said improper things, or derided my brother's
sin when mine own sins are countless”.

Archaeologists announced they found the first physical
evidence of the existence of Prophet Isaiah, The Daily Beast says with the
reference to the recent article in Biblical Archaeology Review magazine. The evidence itself comes in the
form of a small piece of clay (an impression left by a seal), a mere 0.4 inches
long, which appears to bear the inscription “Isaiah the prophet.”

The item was found during the excavations of the trash
heap in
Jerusalem. The debris contained figurines, pottery fragments, pieces of ivory,
and some clay seal impressions, known as bullae. These impressions were created
when the owners of the seals stamped their seals into the soft clay and include
the mark of King Hezekiah.

According
to Eliat Mazar, an Israel archaeologist, “alongside
the bullae of Hezekiah there
were
22 additional bullae, among
these was the bulla
of “Yesha‘yah[u] Nvy[?],” which is most straightforwardly translated as “Isaiah
the Prophet.” Given the importance of Isaiah to religious history, this seal
impression is of great significance to Jews and Christians alike.

According
to the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah was an 8 century BC prophet during the reign of
King Hezekiah. Isaiah began prophesying during the reign of King Ussiah and
appears to have lived through the reigns of Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and the first
14 years of the reign of Hezekiah. “People
loved him so much that they even wrote “The Ascend of Isaiah” – a story about
his martyrdom and ascend to Heaven”.

“Now, for the first time, we have an example
of what might be his “signature”. Not only is this proof that Isaiah existed
(not something scholars truly disputed), but also the evidence of his role in 8 century BC Jerusalem society. Not everyone
who had a seal was of elevated high status (as they were a means of solidifying
identity), but the Bible does describe Isaiah as a counselor of the king to
whom the monarch would turn for advice. The discovery of his seal impressions
in close proximity to that of King Hezekiah confirms the picture of a court
prophet that we get from the Bible” –
the article says.

Mazar
acknowledges in her article that
there are some problems with the seal. Some of the letters that appear
to have broken off. Additionally, most seals identify their owner with
reference to their father “X, the son of Y.” The inscription on the Isaiah’s seal does not correspond
to this format.According
to Mazar, the inscription on the seal states his profession – prophet.

Robert
Cargill, the editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, told The Daily Beast that
this was a “carefully written, responsible article” and that the magazine was
careful not to claim definitively to have found the seal of Isaiah. He added that he personally believes that Mazar found
the seal of Isaiah and said that it was “the first archaeological and
non-biblical reference to the prophet”.

Considering
the message of most Western literature and even Hollywood today, a lust for
revenge might seem the dominant meta-narrative of our culture.

From the
Iliad to Hamlet to the anti-heroine of True Grit, revenge satisfies a sinful
passion that infects our souls apart from the Grace of God. It so consumes the
message of The Count of Monte Cristo, that Dantes confesses: “How did I escape?
With difficulty. How did I plan this moment? With pleasure.”

But what
does the love of God the Father—as revealed to us in Jesus Christ—teach about
revenge? About repaying evil for evil?

Jesus
says when struck to “turn the other cheek” (Luke 6:29). In the brutal climax of
his torture, he uses his dying breath to pray that the Father would forgive his
captors (Luke 23:34). For those who hate us, and wish to do us harm, the Great
Physician prescribes a healthy dose of kindness. And the apostle Paul writes to
the Romans:

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave
it to the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,
says the Lord.” No, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give
him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not
be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. —Rom. 12:19–21

In the
life of Saint Patrick—who the Orthodox Church honors as the ‘Enlightener’ and
apostle to Ireland on March 17—we see the sort of self-sacrificial love that
God both exemplifies and desires from his people.

Patrick
was stolen away as a teenager, taken from his family and friends. Brought to
Ireland by Irish marauders, he escaped after six long years. He was dragged to
Ireland as a slave, but when he became a bishop, he returned to Ireland with
the Gospel. And in this is true love—the antithesis of revenge and self-serving
vengeance.

In his
Confession, St. Patrick describes the time of his captivity in some detail.

When he
was taken, he was nearly sixteen years old. Patrick was the son of a deacon,
with a priest for a grandfather. In spite of this ancestry, he admits that he
was far from pious and had turned away from God in his youth. In his own mind,
the reason for his captivity was unbelief. Like Israel, he was being scattered
among the nations for repentance. The Lord had dragged him into slavery in
order that he might “turn with all my heart to the Lord my God, who regarded my
low estate” (Confession 1.1).

When
Patrick was brought to Ireland and sold into slavery, the land was teeming with
paganism. The Irish worshipped the sun as a god, and made sacrifices to it. The
‘plain of slaughter’ was where first-born children were sacrificed to idols.
Even wells became a place of worship, with divinity ascribed to them. It was a
nation far from the Triune God.

Serving
in Ireland as a shepherd, Patrick found many occasions to turn to God in
prayer. From his writing, it seems clear that prayer was perhaps his only hope
and comfort during this time. He confesses to saying as many as a hundred
different prayers during the day, and just as many—if not more—during the evening.
Rain or shine, he would withdraw to a quiet place in the mountains near Antrim
to pray before first light. It was during a night of fervent prayer that he
heard a voice telling him to go find a ship nearly two hundred miles
away—prepared, as it were, for his escape back to Britain (ibid. 2.6).

His journey from Ireland back home was
fraught with difficulty. At one point, both starvation and exhaustion for his
party seemed all but certain. Patrick then turned to God in prayer and they
were provided with an abundance of food—just enough, in fact, as they arrived
with nothing remaining (ibid. 2.7–9).

Back in
Britain after six years, he was received like the prodigal son. Safe at home,
he was warmly embraced, his parents knowing that they had lost so many precious
years with their child. But a few years after his return, he started seeing
visions.

In one,
he was told by “the voice of the people of Ireland” to “come and walk still
among us.” In another vision, he heard it asked, “Who for thee laid down his
life?” When it came time for his ordination to the episcopate, Patrick was
thankful that he was preserved in the faith from the temptations of his youth,
so that he could offer himself as a living sacrifice. He asked, “Who am I, O
Lord, or what is my calling, that thou hast granted me so much of thy Divine
presence?” (ibid. 3:14)

As
already mentioned, Ireland was a land of pagan worship and child sacrifice. It
was a place of depression and unspeakable horrors. It was a people that had
taken Patrick away for six grueling years. And yet, it was deeply imbued in
Patrick’s heart to return to this place with the Gospel message.

Now a
bishop, in 432 Patrick returned of his own free will to Ireland. Of his efforts
there, the Menaion records:

His
arduous labors bore so much fruit that within seven years, three bishops were
sent from Gaul to help him shepherd his flock, “my brethren and sons whom I
have baptized in the Lord—so many thousands of people,” he says in his
Confession. His apostolic work was not accomplished without much “weariness and
painfulness,” long journeys through difficult country, and many perils; he says
his very life was in danger twelve times.

After
thirty years of service, the Christian faith was established in every part of
Ireland. Pagan worship had been driven far away, and love for the true and
Triune God was common among all. Patrick writes:

Behold, how the Irish who never had the
knowledge of God, and hitherto worshipped only idols and unclean things, have
lately become the people of the Lord, and are called the sons of God.
—Confession 4.17

St.
Patrick reposed peacefully in 461, having given his remaining earthly years as
a sacrifice for the people who had once sold him into captivity.

If
literature and film that extols revenge is typical of our culture, most of us
would have spent those six years plotting our own acts of vengeance against the
Irish. But St. Patrick shows us a better way—He shows us the way of Christ.

Revenge
is empty. It only destroys our soul and consumes our mind with empty thoughts.
But the way of love and self-sacrifice is a way that leads to fullness; a way that
leads to transformation into the true image and likeness of God.

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